


Crossroads

by konkonforever



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gang World, Drama, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2018-10-21 04:50:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10678035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/konkonforever/pseuds/konkonforever
Summary: Sawamura Daichi is now faced with a difficult decision. Should he continue to live his life as a record store employee, scraping together whatever money he can to get by, or should he cast aside his morals and accept an offer that could potentially change his life and ensure the safety of those he loves?(Tags and characters to be changed as the story progresses)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just as a quick disclaimer, this story most likely won't be regularly updated until mid to late May due to impending finals week (I need to maintain my scholarships and whatnot). I may sporadically post the occasional chapter if I have it completed, but in general they won't be regular until after I'm on break for the summer!

His hands trembled terribly as they gripped tightly onto the cold gun. He heard snickering and snide comments being thrown his way, but paid them no mind. He needed to do this, it was his assignment, and more importantly, it was his own initiation. Bile rose from the back of his throat, and he did his best to swallow the bitter substance back down. The target knelt before him, crying profusely as he shouted out various apologies and begged for another chance. The gang didn't believe in second chances, meaning that despite his own moral principles, Daichi had no choice but to do what he was commanded to do.

"He ain't nothing but a pussy who can't shoot the target." The loud remark cut deeply into him, but he tried to ignore it as best as he could. 

He felt a strong hand grasp his shoulder, but he needn't look back to discern who it was. "Shoot him. Now." The man hissed the command through gritted teeth, his patience wearing quite thin. 

He couldn't do it. He couldn't knowingly take the life of another human being and feel no remorse for it; however, Daichi wasn't stupid. He knew that to survive in this world, he needed to pledge is allegiance to someone who could ensure his safety as well as the safety of his younger brother and if that meant killing someone else, then he couldn't exactly complain.

The man took a shaky breath and took care to steady his violently trembling hands. With furrowed eyebrows, Daichi took care in aiming directly at the target in front of him, he couldn't exactly afford to miss with so many people watching. His finger hovered over the trigger, waiting for its chance to strike. More chanting ensued, but this time they were encouraging him to take the shot and take his first step into his new life. With a pounding heart and sweaty hands, Daichi shut his eyes and pulled the trigger.

\-------------------------

It always ended this way. He would pull the trigger, hear the gun sound off, hear the bullet zip through the air, and wake up in his own bed covered in cold sweat. The same dream plagued his young mind ever since he was a child, and it had refused to leave him be. Was this some sort of punishment for pursuing his school work? Was some higher being pissed that he hadn't done what he was supposed to? No matter how many questions he had, Daichi knew that no real answers would ever be given to him. 

At only nineteen years old, Sawamura Daichi had seen more death and violence than most police officers or military personnel currently serving on active duty. It was one of the perks of growing up in the slums of Tokyo; the part that the government had successfully hidden away from the rest of the world. It was as if they didn't even exist to the rest of the world, yet the rest of the world existed and remained out of reach for the poor citizens stuck in these slums. Daichi was no exception to the rule.

Groggily he fished under his pillow for his phone and squinted his eyes to look at the bright screen. "8:35. Shit." He groaned in annoyance and pulled himself from the comfort of his bed. He knew that if he didn't wake up his younger brother, the lazy lump wouldn't wake up until noon, causing him to miss all his classes. No matter how much he wanted to let the boy sleep in, Daichi knew that his education was the most important thing at that moment. 

"Tadashi get your lazy ass up." His voice was still raspy with sleep and he shuffled slowly towards the slumbering boy's room. He sighed, looking at the sleeping mound of blankets and pillows before yelling once more. "Tadashi get the fuck up." He made a face and shook the sleeping boy. 

Startled, Tadashi opened his eyes and fell out of bed. "Oooooww" He frowned, glaring at the triumphant Daichi. "Really. You couldn't just gently wake me up with 'Tadashi get up its time for school' or 'You're going to be late get up for school'? So violent."

The eldest brother gave a cheesy grin and ruffled the boy's hair. "Tadashi, your slow ass is going to be late for school! If you're late I'll kick your ass~."

"That wasn't what I meant..." The fifteen-year-old made a face, stuck his tongue out at his brother, and angrily stomped towards the bathroom. 

They had been on their own ever since Daichi was fourteen and Tadashi was ten, making life harder on the older of the two. Even when they were young, Daichi was expected to take charge and care after his younger brother when their parents were away, which was often. To pay off his many debts, their father was roped into joining one of the three main gangs which controlled the surrounding area. Their mother, unable to handle the hardships that came with living such a life, committed suicide three years after Tadashi had been born. Neither of them held fond memories of their mother, nor did they have very fond memories of their father. He often left them home alone for weeks at a time, and eventually, the man just stopped coming back. To say that he was surprised would be a lie, in fact, Daichi was quite relieved once he realized that his father had left them for good. He never wanted Tadashi to grow up surrounded by such negative influences and examples, and now with his father gone, he could try and give his brother the life that he deserved. As long as Tadashi made it out of that poor excuse of a city, Daichi couldn't care any less for his own future.

Daichi shook his head and glanced at the time once again and frowned, realizing that he would also be late if he didn't hurry up and leave the house. As he shuffled back towards his room, Daichi muttered angrily and sent a quick message to one of his coworkers. His job wasn't reputable, yet it wasn't exactly shameful either. He worked at an old music store, one that specialized in selling records, record players and different memorabilia to music collectors and such. He hated his job with a passion, but he couldn't exactly complain. Unemployment in the area was at an all-time high, and for him to complain about having a job was just about one of the most ungrateful things that an individual could do. 

The man pushed such thoughts aside and hurriedly threw on something presentable. It was the one perk about having such a job. The only uniform requirement was a small rectangular name-tag that he would pin to the front of whatever shirt he had decided on wearing that day. 

"Dai I'm off." 

Daichi blinked and turned towards his disheveled younger brother with a playful smile. "Awe my little brother looks so cute in his uniform." He grinned, ruffling the boy's hair. 

The boy groaned, trying to flatten out his hair. "YOU'RE RUINING MY BAD BOY IMAGE!"

"Shut the hell up and go to school." Daichi winked and brushed past him. "Don't forget to grab something to eat before you leave. I won't be back until late tonight so order something that won't give you diabetes."

As Daichi grabbed his keys and his wallet, he heard the younger boy shuffle unenthusiastically towards the kitchen. "You're always out late. What are you doing?"

"Hm...A whole lot of NOTHING!" He grinned and quickly checked his pockets before moving to slip on his shoes. "But seriously be careful. Double lock the door and don't bring anyone over." The man threw a stern look over his shoulder before slipping out the door.

The corridors of the apartment building were eerily quiet, however Daichi had to remind himself that normal human beings had already gotten up and left for work by now. He was among the lucky select few who had the opportunity to make their commute an hour later than everyone else. He never minded waking up early, however he wasn't about to complain about being able to wake up much later than others. His morning commute helped him sort through his thoughts and his problems, which allowed him to go about his day smoothly. On good days, he would wake up early and watch the sun make its slow ascent into the sky, but this morning he could care less for such natural phenomena. 

The music shop was within walking distance from his apartment, which coincidentally was another perk of the place. Owning a car was a luxury that the young man knew he couldn't afford. It was hard enough trying to pay the rent each month, and a car was just another added expense that he didn't need. The man once again uttered a string of inaudible expletives as he opened the door to the small dusty shop.

"Well, someone's thirty-two seconds late to work this morning. Tsk tsk tsk..."

"Not today Ryu." The man gave his friend a sideways glance and shuffled towards the back of the store.

"Rough night last night?" When he heard no reply, Ryu took it upon himself to continue the conversation. "I'm fine thanks for asking. I finally finished that song I was working on..."

"It only took you a month this time congratulations." Daichi emerged from the back room sporting a childish grin. "Seriously though, are you going to record it?"

There was a noticeable pause in the conversation as the shorter of the two searched for an appropriate answer. "Probably not. It didn't exactly come out the way I wanted. Performing it would only lower my street cred."

"You? Street cred? You wear sunglasses at night, how the fuck does that constitute street cred?" 

"I'm making a fashion statement that says "Conforming to societal norms gets you nowhere in life". It's my image."

"Wow..." Daichi stopped what he was doing and looked at his friend seriously. "I didn't know that our Ryuunosuke knew so many big words."

"I despise you."

"What would you do without me hm?" 

Ryu muttered something under his breath before turning back to work related business. 

\-------------------------

"Here's your change, enjoy your records." As the last customer finally exited the shop, the tall dark haired male let out a long sigh of relief. His feet hurt and his hands ached from the many hours of restock that he had just been through. The day had been unnecessarily long, and he supposed that had to do with the fact that it was Friday night. His eyes felt heavy with exhaustion, and the only thought on Daichi's mind was getting back home at a reasonable time. Briefly he wondered whether Tadashi was alright, but shook the thought from his mind; the boy knew how to take care of himself just fine. Worrying only made him paranoid.

"We see about ten customers a day, yet this place is still open and we still get paid on time. I'm smelling something fishy..." Ryu made a face and dragged himself from the back of the store.

"I'm pretty sure that was just our last customer." Daichi smirked to himself before continuing. "Besides, like you said we get paid on time, let's not worry about the details. We both need this job anyways and it's best not to jinx our luck."

The other shrugged and stared at his friend inquisitively. "Yeah but aren't you just a little bit curious? We almost never see the guy who owns the shop and he pretty much trusts us enough to have our own keys to the place. Now I'm not saying that we should or would abuse this trust, but who willingly does something like that? What if we were to one da-..."

The familiar door chime sounded, alerting the two that they had another customer. Daichi looked at his friend pointedly, to which he replied with one of general annoyance before sulking to the back of the shop again. Their conversation would have to be continued another time. 

He took a quick glance at the clock to check the time before addressing the customer that had entered the store. "I'm sorry but we're closing in three minutes. You can come in Monday, we open at 10:00 am." There was a long stretch of silence which led the man to assume he hadn't been heard, but just as he readied himself to give off another warning, he noticed a figure emerge from behind the various shelves of music. 

The faceless nameless customer turned out to be a relatively young man, rather, he looked to be around Daichi's age. His head was shaved, save for a tuft of dyed blonde hair that could only be assumed to mimic some sort of mohawk, and he wore a purple bandana tied haphazardly around his neck. He took calculated steps toward the cashier and stopped once he had deemed himself close enough. "I didn't exactly come here to browse your lovely collection of vintage shit." Dark eyes pierced through Daichi and a mischievous smirk played on his lips. "I came here for you Mr. Sawamura.”

Daichi was confused. The man before him was a complete stranger, yet he had claimed to want to see him about something. Of course he could just chalk it up to some misunderstanding, but he couldn't exactly ignore the fact that the blonde had addressed him by his name. "There must be a mistake, I'm not..."

"Nineteen-year-old Sawamura Daichi who currently is employed at this here antique...what the fuck do you sell here...shop who also currently lives in building nine on the fifth floor with your cute little fifteen your old brother Tadashi who, by the way, has been secretly dating someone behind your back? Ooh scandalous." The stranger laughed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You're not him?"

Daichi felt the color drain from his face as the man listed off a summary of his current situation. It shouldn't be possible for a stranger to list off these facts about him, yet there he was, staring into the eyes of one who did. He clenched his fists and took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm himself down. "You should leave."

"Leave?" The man scoffed and looked quite amused. "Oh no no no, I think I'll stay. In fact..." He took another step closer to him. "...you can count on me sta-...damn you're bigger than I thought you’d be." The blonde took a step back and grinned. "I can see why Tetsu wants you so badly."

Daichi looked at the man in confusion. Did he somehow miss some part of this man's introduction? "Wants me? Am I some sort of fucking prize?"

"Ah there it is!" The blonde enthusiastically clapped his hands. "We need that type fire on our team. You're lucky kid, not many people get personally scouted by our leader. I mean, the last one to get scouted was yours truly." At that, the man donned a smug look and chuckled. "Then again, that was before the two of us were well known, so I guess that makes you the first huh?"

By now he was feeling the full effects of having to work such long hours, and had very little patience for such shenanigans. "Look, I'm tired, confused, and not interested in whatever you're trying to tell me. Is there a point to all of this because I have somewhere I need to be."

"So sorry to hold up your busy schedule dear Daichi, but this is rather important." The blonde held out his hand and smiled. "Call me Taketora, anything other than that and I'll kill you." Daichi had made no attempt to take his hand, which resulted in him dropping it back to his side. "If you haven't guessed by now, I'm with The Shadows, an elite group of special mutant humans..." He trailed off waiting for some sort of reaction. "Nah I'm fucking with ya, it's ok to smile once in a while Daichi~. Anyways, we're one of the most influential gangs in town and we want you to join our ranks. Aside from Tetsurou our leader, I'm the most powerful member of our little organization, you're lucky I didn't make you kneel in my presence... Long story short, Tetsu has requested to see you for recruiting purposes tomorrow afternoon. Come alone to this address at this time." With a smirk, he slipped a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Daichi. "You know what, bring your friend too, we need more creativity on the team."

Daichi wordlessly accepted the piece of paper and slipped it in his pocket. As much as he wanted to tell the other man to go fuck himself, a small part of him compelled him not to do so. Was he seriously contemplating the other man's offer or was he simply too confused to formulate a coherent response? Of course there were a myriad of other questions swimming around in his brain, but at that moment he could only seem to muster up enough courage to ask one. "Why?"

Taketora shrugged and began walking towards the door. "I dunno kid, maybe you've just got spunk or some shit. Don't ask me difficult questions." An airy chuckle left his lips before opening the door to exit the shop. 

At the sound of the door closing, Ryu sheepishly shuffled out from the back room. "You're fucked."

Daichi turned to give his friend a look of bewilderment. "Didn't you hear him? He asked for you too."

At that, all remnants of conversation suddenly disappeared, and an uncomfortable silence floated between them. Daichi crumpled the paper in his hand and stuffed it halfheartedly into his pocket. He still had no real grasp on the current situation, and was still trying to discern whether that exchange had just taken place. The only thing he did know to be real was the clicking clock on the wall, constantly reminding him that he needed to get home as soon as humanly possible. 

"I guess you're right then Daichi..." The other male sighed and finally looked at his best friend. "We're both fucked."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello I am officially done with finals!! Ok confession time, I've been done since the 16th but I've spent the last week catching up on hours of missed sleep and a long queue of anime I have yet to finish heh, but that's besides the point! I'm going to try and update this at least once a week (not naming any specific day of the week because I personally know I won't adhere to that schedule lol). Thank you to all who've read the story, left kudos, and commented, I'm so glad to see you're enjoying it heh heh ﾍ(=￣∇￣)ﾉ. Ok I'm gonna stop rambling now, I hope you guys enjoy chapter 2~.

When the blonde sentry had finally made it back to his leader, it was well past midnight. He felt no real need to rush, especially since the matter wasn't exactly what he'd categorize as urgent. If it had been urgent, the blonde would have put more effort into getting back to his office much earlier. Besides, it wasn't as if he didn't have other errands and stops to make, so even if Tetsurou was somehow upset with him, he had a valid excuse for showing up late. It was with this mindset that he approached his best friend.

"I'm back." He waited a moment, choosing to slip off his jacket before venturing further. "Where ya at?"

"Was the kid in China?"

"Huh?" He raised a curious eyebrow and walked closer to the man's desk. "What the hell kind of question is that?" He tilted his head, choosing to stuff his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know, you tell me. What took you so long hm?" The man seemed generally disinterested in the conversation as he continued to meticulously mark up his various charts.

"Stuff." He turned away from the other and walked towards the mini fridge. "Made a few extra deals, finally caught up to that rogue client and gave him a piece of my mind." Taketora smirked, opened the fridge, and plucked out a can of beer. "He's a slippery little bastard, but I doubt he'll have the balls to try and cross me again."

"Mm..." Tetsurou hadn't looked up from whatever he was attempting to chart out, and it didn't seem as though he had any plans to do so. "And Daichi?"

Taketora shrugged and popped the top off his bottle. "It isn't like he's going to refuse, he knows the type of power we hold." He nodded to himself and took a quick swig. "His friend works the underground rap circuit, we could use another like him."

"Mm...Both are good." The dark-haired man sighed and rubbed at his temples. "But we need Daichi." He glanced at Taketora for a split second before snatching the papers off the table. "I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but we’re in deep shit Tora. Our numbers aren't adding up like they used to and the Kings are becoming too much of an issue. I've seen three of my best dealers die in the past month and recruiting ain’t as easy as it used to be." He made a face and grabbed some of the papers that he was working on. "We need all of the help we can get Tora, you know that."

Before he could get a word in edgewise, Tetsurou had gotten up and disappeared to some other room in order to continue whatever he was doing before. People were threatening Tetsurou’s empire, and to say that it had put the man in a bad mood would be an understatement. Too many people were dying and too much of their territory was being taken by Oikawa Tooru and his band of thugs. Drastic times had called for drastic measures, and if calling in two new promising recruits meant saving their empire, then that's what he had to do. For his sake, and most importantly, his best friend's sake.

* * *

That night, Daichi did not dream. There was no reoccurring nightmare, no magical alternate universe where everything was perfectly fine, just absolute darkness. His thoughts kept had kept him stuck somewhere between a dream world and the harsh reality that he lived in. It was as if his brain couldn't process the amount of information that he had been given that night, and he wasn't entirely sure that it wanted to. Though his eyes were closed, Daichi couldn't shake the feeling of restlessness that had seeped from his brain to the rest of his body. All he wanted was sleep, yet he knew that wasn't going to happen. Hell, he even missed the nightmares that he was accustomed to.

It wasn't long before the sun decided to brighten the sky with its presence, alerting the man that he had pretty much wasted his whole night worrying about trivial matters. He knew that he had a few good hours before he was due to make his appearance in front of this Tetsurou character, yet he still couldn't shake the feeling that overcame him. His heart beat wildly in his chest as beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. Maybe it would be better for him to completely forget about Taketora and his offer.

As there was no real use in lying in bed all morning, Daichi reluctantly rolled out of bed and threw a shirt on. He stared apprehensively at the piece of crumpled paper that lie next to his discarded jeans before forgetting about the paper and exiting the room. When he opened the door, Daichi was immediately greeted by the smell of coffee and burnt toast. He raised a curious eyebrow and cautiously entered the kitchen.

"Fuck not again...Morning Dai." Tadashi glared at the toaster for a moment longer before smiling at his older brother. "Did you sleep well?"

Daichi shrugged and sat down at the small kitchen table. "You're up early...you do know that it's eleven, right?"

"Wow real funny..." He looked away and shuffled his feet. "I don't know….you've been working hard and I thought you wanted breakfast or something."

There were times when Daichi could really say that he appreciated his younger brother. Of course, he was annoying and a pain to have to look after, however, there were certain redeeming qualities that the younger one had. He looked towards the younger with a sly smirk and shrugged. “Well yeah I mean breakfast sounds like a god idea, but I prefer to eat things that aren’t burnt. Seriously Tadashi, how do you burn toast…?”

“Oh shut up, I’m trying to be nice.” The boy trailed off and turned towards the burnt toast. “Besides, you seemed a bit tense when you came in last night, I thought this would help cheer you up.”

“Awe…” The man grinned and ruffled his younger brother’s hair. “I don’t deserve a loyal younger brother like you!”

After some uncomfortable squirming, Tadashi wriggled out of the older boy’s arms and stalked towards the table. “Fucking weirdo…”

“Language.” He threw an amused look over his shoulder before busying himself with more pressing matters, such as the pot of fresh coffee. Trusting that his younger brother hadn’t managed to burn the coffee, Daichi grabbed himself a mug and began to fix himself a proper cup.

A comfortable silence passed between the two individuals as they each treated themselves to a simple breakfast. Of course Daichi was still reeling over the idea of having to meet some larger than life crime boss in a few hours, but that was beside the point. The meeting shouldn’t be too nerve wracking, especially considering that Tetsurou had only wanted to speak with the two of them, rather, he seemed to only want to talk to him. Ryu had only been thrown into the mix at the whim of the ever so unpredictable Taketora. As it was, his primary concern was with Tetsurou and why he had even wanted to meet him in the first place. Just the thought of his name filled Daichi with some foreign sense of foreboding; one that he wasn't to accustomed to.

“So Daichi…what are you doing today?”

The man blinked and raised an inquisitive eyebrow towards his younger brother. “Stuff…” He paused, remembering the small tip off he had gotten from Taketora. “You would tell me if you were seeing someone, right?”

The color drained from the fifteen-year old’s face as he quickly looked away from his older brother. “P-Pft yeah of course I would…”

“Because I wouldn’t care if you were, I mean, of course I’d need to meet her…or him.”

Tadashi turned a bright shade of red. “O-Ok…” He paused for a moment and stood up. “I uh…have things I need to do so…yeah.” With a sheepish grin the boy quickly retreated to his room and shut the door behind him.

Daichi had found his reaction to be quite amusing, but decided not to pry any further. He glanced at his phone and groaned once he noticed that the time had passed rather quickly. Ryu had promised to meet him in front of the building at eleven thirty, and Daichi only had about three more minutes to decide whether he wanted to go through with this. Though he was very apprehensive about this whole set up, Daichi couldn’t help but think about the potential consequences that would surely ensue if he didn’t take up the offer. Tadashi’s safety and well-being was something that he couldn’t easily compromise, and he knew that they would find some way to use his little brother against him. It seemed as though he really didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

“I’ll be back later this afternoon.” There was a deafening silence that followed, but he knew that the boy could hear him. It was his way of acting out in response to the miniature interrogation that Daichi had just subjected him to. So, with a loud sigh, Daichi finally exited his apartment.

With each step he took, his mind formulated different crazy scenarios and outcomes that were unlikely to happen; however, who could honestly blame him? He had spent his whole life trying to deliberately stay away from a life filled with crime and senseless violence, yet here he was, willingly walking right into the threshold of such a dangerous lifestyle. He would have scoffed at the irony, had he not been terrified.

“And here he is, forty-seven seconds late as per usual.” Somehow Ryu had managed to maintain his usual demeanor, as if he had been generally unaffected by such an ordeal. Daichi honestly wouldn’t be surprised, the guy had been blessed with the natural ability to bullshit his way through life. Daichi gave the other no real dignified response, and instead decided to wordlessly forge on ahead.

The address had not been too far from where he had lived, actually it had been quite close to the music shop, which made this whole ordeal a lot easier for the already paranoid Daichi. His fear mounted with each passing moment, and Ryu’s nervous chattering only caused him to become even more wary of the current situation.

His footsteps finally came to a halt right in front of the address that had been given to him by Taketora the night before. It was a small restaurant, one that didn't serve many patrons. It, like most of the other stores and shops, was probably another front for some major illegal corporation, and Daichi had a feeling that Tetsurou was responsible for it. His mind had conjured up some scenario where the two of them would walk into an empty courtyard and be subjected to the merciless beatings of blood thirsty gang members, so, he was quite relieved to see that they had stood in front of a quiet traditional restaurant.

"So... was there some sort of password that we needed to know? Should we knock three times in some sort of pattern? Don't just stand there Dai do something."

He wanted to glare at the other man but he knew that he was most likely just as nervous as he was at that moment. "Fine." He inhaled sharply and opened the door to the restaurant with great trepidation.

It looked just like any other traditional restaurant in the area. Dark wood lined the floors and served as a boarder for the walls while a lighter shade of beige colored the rest of the walls. The decor matched the overall colors scheme, creating a dark and dusky atmosphere during the middle of the day. He walked in a bit further towards the host stand, where an uninterested teen played mindlessly with his cellphone.

"Um..." Daichi had no clue what he was doing, and alerting the host seemed to be the best idea.

The teen glanced up from his phone and stared blankly at the two and sighed. "Names."

The young man glanced at his friend who seemed to be just as confused as he was about the whole ordeal. "Sawamura Daichi."

"Tanaka Ryuunosuke."

The teen widened his eyes and placed his cellphone down behind the stand. "Follow me."

Daichi wanted to turn around and bolt, however, with Ryu already in hot pursuit of their speedy host, the man had absolutely no choice.

The teen had led them past the general dining area, towards a more secluded and private dining area. It was sealed off with door that donned a shiny "Reserved" plaque. He sent a furtive glance towards Ryu, but couldn't interpret the other's initial reaction or thought process.

"You may enter the room, make yourselves comfortable. The boss will be with you shortly."

It unnerved him to know that such a young teen seemed to be affiliated with someone like Tetsurou, but there was little he could do about that. It seemed as if the man hadn't arrived yet, which only added to his paranoia. Perhaps this had all been some elaborate prank set up by Ryu to pay him back for something. Karma was a bitch, but he doubted that it would lead the other to go through such drastic measures. However, the look of terror that crossed Ryu's face was impossible to fabricate, which further led him to believe that this theory was complete bullshit. Such worrying was not normal for Daichi, but it was literally the only thing left for him to do; and as the clock ticked towards noon, the young man found himself growing even more anxious.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh look another chapter and the plot thickens! It's a bit shorter than I would've liked, but it didn't make sense for me to add more onto it since that would be cutting into chapter 4 (which is already pretty short and uncompleted oops). Thank you to everyone who showed interest in this story and took the time to read or even glance at it! I'm a bit of a dumb dumb (-insert red velvet lyrics here-) and just realized that you can reply to comments so I'll be doing that from now on haha~. Anyways here's chapter 3 enjoy~

He was generally displeased with the reports that he had received that morning. Kenma had failed to retrieve their stolen product, and three more of their members had been arrested for illegal weapon possession. In short, they had suffered yet another loss at the hands of the Kings, and he wasn't at all eager about the prospect of a full-blown war between the two gangs. It was one thing to have minor disputes over claimed territory and defectors, however it was something entirely different to have the two sides mercilessly killing each other for sport. He felt the vein in his forehead throb relentlessly as his mind swam bits of information. Honestly, he had wanted to cancel this whole arrangement that Taketora had set up, but doing so would be childish. He had no doubt in his mind that Daichi had decided to take the offer, and it wouldn’t look good on his part if he were to suddenly skip out and leave Taketora to do the talking. Actually, it would prove to be quite detrimental if he left that blond idiot to do the talking.

Tetsurou narrowed his eyes as he stepped out of the car. He made it a point to stay relatively far away from this part of town, for there were too many people here that apparently wanted him dead. However, in addition to his obnoxiously loud second in command, he was accompanied by two other members who served as makeshift bodyguards whenever the occasion called for it. Perhaps he was being overly cautious, but one could never be too careful.

The restaurant had been there only for practical purposes and served to only provide a safe meeting place for him and the members of his group. This had been another one of Taketora’s grand ideas, and for once, it had worked out in their favor. Most of the other gangs in the area held such establishments, which allowed for them to keep tabs on each other.

He pursed his lips and ran his fingers through his unruly hair. Tetsurou felt the blond brush past him and watched as he carefully made his way inside. Finding no other options, Tetsurou quietly made his way into the restaurant, followed by his two bodyguards.

Taketora had already disappeared towards the back of the room, giving him an opportunity to better collect his thoughts. Lazy eyes fell upon the terrified teen at the host stand, and Tetsurou couldn’t help but smirk.

The teen paled and quickly bowed towards him. “T-They’re in the back sir…”

He nodded nonchalantly towards the teen and chose to make his way towards the back room where Taketora was probably already causing trouble.

“Wait outside.” He nodded towards the two men and silently entered the room.

His eyes first fell upon the two tense figures that sat across from the usually animated Taketora. One seemed to be trying to match Taketora’s enthusiasm, which was amusing to witness. He had guessed that this was the Ryuunosuke that Tora had been personally scouting. The other, who looked tense and conflicted, was Daichi. 

“Aye it’s the man of the hour. Come meet our new children.”

Tetsurou ignored the snide response from the other and chose to sit down quietly beside him. He could feel the intense gaze that the other two gave him from across the table, and that made him a tad bit uncomfortable.

“ _So_ now that the gang is all here...ok we’re not ALL here we didn’t want to overwhelm you, but regardless, it’s time to get down to business.”

It was easy for Tetsurou to let Taketora do the speaking. He knew that the other had an exceptional talent for attracting other individuals and it was a quality that he had always envied in the other man. When it came to talking to other people, Tetsurou tended to intimidate others without even meaning it. Though he hated it at first, it proved to be quite useful in his line of work.

“Long story short, we need you to join us. Your particular set of skills and the potential that you both have are important assets that the Shadows desperately need. Despite our dashing looks, me and Tetsurou can’t exactly do everything around here, and we need more people to pick up the slack,”

Tetsurou felt his eyebrow twitch and he sent a sideways look towards the unruly blond. He would have worded it differently, but he kept silent. His job was to observe their reactions and determine their self-worth.

“Skills…? We work at an antique music shop, what skills do we possess please explain.”

Daichi was a lot sharper than Tetsurou had anticipated, which was definitely worth noting.

“I mean, we are in desperate need of more inside men, and Ryu could at least be our eyes and ears on the underground rap circuit. While you…”

“Would be working for me personally.”

He felt the conversation’s focus shift from Tora to him, and that made him feel a bit more pressured. Keeping his mouth shut would only further allow for Tora to spew more bullshit about working together as a corporation and whatnot.

“Why?”

He gave Daichi an amused smirk. “You have something that I personally need. I understand that your father tragically died due to an unfortunate altercation between his gang and a rival gang correct? I’m giving you a chance to exact your revenge Daichi, and that’s what I need from you. I need the intimidation and drive that comes from such a tragic loss.”

The last few words that he had uttered hung precariously between them, leaving Tetsurou to wait patiently as Daichi processed this new information. He felt Taketora give him a sideways glance, but paid it no mind. The unruly blond often forgot who actually ran things, and it was his duty to remind him every once and a while.

“Tragic loss? If anything, that asshole’s death was more of a gain. Instead of exacting revenge on his behalf, I’d much rather find the bastard who killed him and shake his hand.” The muscles in his jaw tensed and his lips formed a thin line.

“I see.” Tetsurou paused, a small smirk playing on his lips. Daichi was most definitely unruly, but it was something that the man rather admired. He had expected this sort of a response from the young man, after all, he personally would’ve reacted similarly to such a situation.

“So you’re saying that you have no interest in avenging your father and taking up his legacy? The man who sacrificed his life to keep you and your younger brother out of harm’s way? That sounds pretty damn sad to me doesn’t it?

Daichi narrowed his eyes, the muscles in his jaw beginning to tighten once more. “That sorry son of a bitch didn’t do anything for us. His death was inevitable, hanging around with that sorry band of thugs he was so fond of. We didn’t need gang protection then and we sure as hell don’t need it now.”

At this, the usually reserved Tetsurou decided to laugh. He felt Taketora stare at him in confusion, but ignored it. “And what makes you think that you haven’t benefited from gang protection Daichi? Have you any idea who your father was? To you he was some sorry bastard who couldn’t give two flying fucks about his children, but he was so much more than that Daichi. He bought your protection with his life, and time is running out. You want to protect that precious younger brother of yours? You want to preserve whatever friendships you have? Then you take my offer. If you want find yourself dead by next weekend, then you refuse. It’s your call.”

Daichi’s face was completely blank while beside him, Ryu visibly fought against the urge to say something in response. He gave a sideways glance towards Taketora who held a neutral expression, before standing up at the table. “You have exactly 24 hours to respond to my offer…both of you.”

He turned to Taketora and stuffed his hands in his pocket. “Give them the usual instructions, and do so quickly. We have another meeting to attend to and I would rather not be late for the third time.”

Taketora rolled his eyes and gave some sort of mock salute before turning back towards the two bewildered young men. “Oi, listen up because I’m not repeating this shit twice….”

He gave a small nod and exited the reserved room. The two gang members who had been standing guard immediately bolted up and flanked either side of him. The meeting had drained whatever energy he had stored up for the rest of the day and he wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. This was the main reason he had usually left the talking to Taketora, but he could sense the conversation moving in a direction that the blond wouldn’t be able to control. He let out a small sigh and kept his eyes trained forwards as he headed to the car. It was going to be a long ass day.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowza, so firstly Happy 2018, I hope this year brings you all many blessings and good vibes~. Secondly, so sorry about the lack of update! This whole being a senior thing is a lot more difficult than I anticipated, but I've passed the hard part and will hopefully be more attentive to this while I'm on break until the Spring semester comes to kick my ass (a...ha..). As always, thank you for supporting this story or even glancing at it heh heh <3\. So, without further ado, I present Chapter 4!!!!!

Daichi had only been half listening to whatever instructions Taketora was giving them; his mind still lingering on the last few words that Tetsurou had said. The man had a mere 24 hours to decide whether he should go through with everything and accept the offer he had been given, or run the risk of putting himself and his younger brother in harm’s way. At the surface, it was all too clear what decision he should make, but there were other underlying factors that the man still needed to take into account. Joining the Shadows meant throwing away whatever plans and goals that he had for his life in favor of taking on the doctrines and beliefs of the gang. He would essentially be agreeing to give his life and take away the lives of others for the safety and protection of those in the gang and those who were affiliated with it. However, on the flip side it also ensured that Tadashi would be protected and looked after even when he wasn’t around. Refusing the offer would mean that he and Tadashi would be on their own; and if they really were being benefitted by some sort of protection contract that their father had created, having no protection at all could potentially be fatal.

“Oi, earth to Daichi.”

He turned slowly to look at Ryu, who had looked a lot paler than he had before. “We should go.” He turned away and stood up from his seat, noticing that Taketora had been gone as well.

Faintly he heard the other man scramble to follow after him, but Daichi wasn’t in the mood to slow down and wait for his best friend. His legs slightly wobbled, but he ignored the unsteady feeling and pushed forward towards the exit. The same teen that had let them in the restaurant was still posted at the host’s station, but when he looked up at Daichi, his expression had been fearful. He couldn’t exactly make out the expression on his own face, but judging by the teen it hadn’t been a very pleasant one.

When he had finally exited the restaurant, he was met with a bright sun, light breeze, and the faint smell of something sweet in the air. He let out a cynical scoff and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He had guessed that it was sometime after one in the afternoon, but Daichi hadn’t felt like doing anything else with the rest of his day.

“Dai slow the fuck down we’re going the same way you know.”

With an annoyed sigh, he slowed down his pace and looked over his shoulder. “I just want to get home and forget that any of this ever happened.”

Ryu huffed and fell into step beside him. “You and I both know that isn’t exactly possible. You heard Tetsurou ‘You have exactly 24 hours to respond to my offer or else I’ll slaughter you and your whole family.’ I’m not trying to fuck around with that.”

“I’m almost positive that last bit was made up.”

“Yeah…but it was _IMPLIED_.” Ryuunosuke made a face and stared down at the pavement. “We don’t really have much of a choice, do we…?”

Daichi chuckled and shook his head. “We do have a choice. It’s just that we know that there’s a correct choice and an incorrect choice and picking the wrong one basically ensures that we’ll be dead within the week.”

“Yikes…”

The two fell silent for a while as they walked down the street towards their respective homes. Daichi knew that he couldn’t waltz out of this situation and expect things to go back to how they were before. Each choice came with unfavorable consequences along with benefits that he couldn’t exactly ignore, and though his heart had told him to go with one choice, his brain had a completely different opinion on the matter. At this point he’d probably have better luck with flipping a coin, but even Daichi knew that he’d be displeased regardless of the choice that it had landed on.

“Daichi.” Ryu had slowed to a stop and took a deep breath. “This decision is damn near impossible to make alone, but we have each other to lean on. You and I both know that we don’t want to do this, but some things are inevitable. You have to take care of Tadashi and I need to make sure that nothing happens to my older sister while protecting what little honor or dignity that I have left. This situation is much bigger than either of us, and we need to look beyond ourselves on this one.”

The other man gave his best friend a sad smile and shook his head. “Ryu, you should’ve saved your only inspirational speech for some other time.” He turned around again and started walking. “I’ll see you later.”

He heard Ryu begin to start speaking again, but he wasn’t interested in what his friend had to say; besides, it was probably something that he had already known to begin with. Daichi knew that the two of them had certain obligations to their families, but that didn’t exactly make the decision easy for him to make. Deep down he knew the decision that he had to make, and as much as he would beat himself up and hate himself over it, Daichi knew that he didn’t have a choice.

In the distance, he could begin to see the outline of his apartment building, and with a defeated sigh the dark haired man stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned in the opposite direction.

* * *

 

By the time he had finally decided to actually head back home, it was well past midnight and the streets were dark and quiet. He had only meant to walk around for a bit so that he could clear his head, but his simple walk soon turned into an aimless stroll around the area. Once he realized that he was merely wandering the streets, the sunny and clear afternoon sky had changed to a cloudless starry night sky. The thought of running away had come to mind a few times during his stroll, but he always managed to convince himself otherwise. Running away would mean leaving the burden to Tadashi and that was the exact thing he was trying to avoid.

He shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of such toxic thoughts; thinking negatively wouldn’t do anything to better the predicament that he was in. So, with sluggish steps, the sullen Daichi dragged himself to the front door of his shared apartment and unlocked the door.

“Daichi? Is that you?”

The man closed the door behind him and turned to face a very anxious and very annoyed looking Tadashi. “Hey, did I wake you?”

The younger glared and crossed his arms. “Wake me? I haven’t been able to go to sleep yet because of you. Where the fuck have you been? I thought we both agreed that we’d be home before eleven and if there were any changes then we’d call one another.”

Daichi blinked and inhaled sharply. “Calm down Tadashi I’m fine ok.”

“Fine? You couldn’t have called me and said that you’d be home late? I’ve been pacing back and forth calling you and texting you and I even called Ryu, who didn’t answer his phone either.”

“Look Tadashi…” The elder closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s been a long day and I’m sorry I made you worry about me.” He opened his eyes and let out the breath he had been holding. “I needed to take care of some things and it took a lot longer than I had expected, it won’t happen again.”

The teen rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. “If I pulled this shit, you and I both know I would’ve had my ass handed to me.”

“Maybe that’s because you’re fifteen and have no business being out later than eleven anyways. All you need to do is go to school, go home, and study. I’ll handle everything else. I don’t want you to worry about anything other than school, so just worry about that and I’ll make sure to check in on time. I don’t want you worrying about me.”

Tadashi paused and glared back at his older brother. “Do you even know how ridiculous you sound? You’re all I have left Daichi; mom’s gone, dad’s gone and it’s just us. So FORGIVE me if I decide to worry about where the fuck you run off to in the middle of the night. You’re so busy caring about everyone else that you forget to care about yourself, and do you know what that’s going to get you in this neighborhood? Killed. Stabbed or shot in the street by some thug who used your kindness to their advantage. For fuck’s sake Daichi you aren’t superman, so stop acting like it.”

Daichi bit back whatever was getting ready to fly out of his mouth and watched as his younger brother stormed off to his room. No matter what he had thought about the matter, he knew that Tadashi was right. Eventually his kindness and selflessness would eventually get him killed, but that was neither here nor there at this point in time. Interestingly enough, Daichi wasn’t exactly sure that joining a gang would help him avoid such a fate, but at this point the man knew that he had no other alternative.

With a deep sigh, the nineteen year old shuffled his way towards his bedroom, hoping to at least get one more night of sleep before he signed his life away.


End file.
